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SVMF preps for big day

Festival organizers place stage infrastructure under playing fields
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Last weekend, ӣƵValley Music Festival organizers installed the footings for the concert’s main stage.

The groundwork is being laid to hold performers Eminem, Arcade Fire and Bruno Mars.

Last weekend (May 31 and June 1), ӣƵValley Music Festival organizers were at Centennial Fields with diggers installing stage footings. The infrastructure was placed underneath the fields’ playing surface so as to not interfere with their use. They can be reused year after year, the festival’s executive producer Paul Runnals said. The footings cut down on pre-festival work and help protect the field, he said. 

“Our headline artists carry an average of 50 tonnes of equipment, which creates significant point loads on the eight posts that hold the stage roof system up, so these engineered footings are being installed to ensure that we do not damage the field underneath,” Runnals said in a statement.

Besides the footings, at the time of the festival, more than 20,000 square feet of industrial field protection will be placed in front of the Tantalus Stage to protect Centennial Fields. The material is the same as the one used at B.C. Place to guard its playing surfaces. 

“The stage is being located further north to open up the available field space in front, thereby distributing the audience and festival infrastructure and further reducing the potential of wear and tear on the fields.” 

The southern section of the field begins more than 100 metres away from the Tantalus Stage. As such, organizers don’t anticipate the same amount of foot traffic. 

The Stawamus Stage, to be located at the south end of the festival grounds on Hendrickson Fields, is the smaller of the two main stages. The fields will be covered by more than 6,000 square feet of industrial surface protection, Runnals said. The artificial turf field and the BMX track will be completely sealed off from festival-goers. 

“We are paying for significant pre- and post-event maintenance that is designed to strengthen the fields to better stand up not only to the festival, but also to all of the users throughout the year,” Runnals said. 

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